Thanks to our friends at OMSI – Oregon Museum of Science and Industry – for information about the upcoming Harvest Moon – September 19

September’s full Moon, called the Harvest Moon, refers to the full Moon that comes closest to the first day of autumn. Depending on the year, the Harvest Moon can fall before or after the autumnal equinox which arrives annually on or near September 22. This year, the Harvest Moon reaches full phase on September 19 at 4:13 am PDT.

Before the advent of artificial lighting, our ancestors were acutely aware of the daylight hours waning more rapidly around the autumnal equinox – the time when the Sun rises due east and sets due west – than at any other time of year. But back then, people also understood lunar behavior, harvesting by the light of the Moon.

The Harvest Moon will appear as a large orange full moon low above the eastern horizon after 6:40 pm on September 18, followed by sunset at 7:15 pm in the west. The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. When looking toward the horizon, we are actually looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when looking directly overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light (the reason the sky looks blue). The thickness of the atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through. So a moon near the horizon takes on a yellow, orange or reddish hue.

The bigger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is a trick your eyes play on you, called “the moon illusion.” The illusion is a matter of perception, a trick of the brain, which perceives the Moon when seen overhead as closer than the Moon seen at the horizon. When an object is perceived to be nearer, the brain may compensate by making it look smaller to us. Likewise, an object thought to be farther away will be seen as larger.

Each full Moon during the year has been named throughout the years; next month’s full Moon is the Hunter’s Moon, and it will come this year on October 18. Enjoy!

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Registration is now open for teams wishing to compete in the $1.495 million robotics competition known as the Sample Return Robot Challenge, sponsored by NASA and managed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Worcester, MA. Registration for the competition will close on January 7, 2014 with late registration available until March 15, 2014. The competition will be held June 11-13, 2014.

“The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in automatic navigation and robotic manipulator technologies that NASA could incorporate into future missions,” said Michael Gazarik, NASA’s associate administrator for space technology in Washington. “Innovations stemming from this challenge may improve NASA’s capability to explore an asteroid or Mars, and advance robotic technology for use in industries and applications here on Earth.”

To win, a team must demonstrate a fully autonomous robot that can seek out samples and return them to a designated point within a set time period. Robots will be required to navigate over unknown terrain, around obstacles, and in varied lighting conditions without human control, or use of GPS, or other terrestrial navigation aids.

This is a Centennial Challenge in which NASA provides the prize purse for technological achievements. The challenge is extended to individuals, groups and companies. Unlike most contracts or grants, awards will be made only after solutions are demonstrated successfully. Since the program’s inception in 2005, NASA’s Centennial Challenges has awarded more than $6 million to 15 different competition-winning teams through 24 events. Competitors have included private companies, citizen inventors and academia working outside the traditional aerospace industry.

The Sample Return Robot Challenge is part of the Centennial Challenges Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA’s future missions. For more information about NASA’s investment in space technology, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

Free Virtual Professional Development Workshop Series: NASA STEM Spanish Immersion. Participants who register and complete all four workshops are eligible to receive five workshop hours towards continuing education units.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network and the Aerospace Education Services Project are presenting a series of professional development workshops tailored to elementary Spanish immersion educators. These free workshops are designed to enhance curriculum activities with NASA-inspired lessons. These professional development workshops will provide hands-on, interactive and engaging activities in Spanish.

Sign up today to join the free four-day workshop series on July 15, July 17, July 23 and July 25, 2013. Each session is 75 minutes long.

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Description
The National Space Grant Foundation is pleased to announce the X-Hab 2014 Academic Innovation Challenge. This program is a university level challenge designed to engage and retain students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The competition is intended to link with senior and graduate-level design curricula that emphasize hands-on design, research, development, and manufacture of functional prototypical subsystems that enable habitation-related functionality for space exploration missions. NASA will directly benefit from the challenge by sponsoring the development of innovative habitation-related concepts and technologies from universities, which will result in innovative ideas and solutions that could be applied to exploration habitats. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Deep Space Habitat (DSH) project will offer multiple X-Hab awards of $10K – $20K each to design and produce functional products of interest to the DSH project (see topic list) as proposed by university teams according to their interests and expertise. The prototypes produced by the university teams may be integrated onto an existing NASA-built operational habitat prototype (examples shown in Figure 1). X-Hab proposals will have a Notice of Intent and proposal phase, where down-selection will determine which projects will be funded. X-Hab university teams will either finalize their deliverables, or deliver their products in May-June 2014 to be integrated in the FY14 DSH habitat configuration. Universities may collaborate together on a Project Team.

The Foundation anticipates that approximately 3-6 awards will be made under this solicitation ranging between $10,000 and $20,000 each.

Eligibility
Proposals will be accepted from faculty who are U.S. citizens and currently teach an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited engineering senior or graduate design, industrial design, or architecture curriculum teaming course at a university affiliated with the National Space Grant College (if applicable) and Fellowship Program, or other US accredited university. Multi-discipline, multi-departmental, and/or multi-institutional teaming collaborations are highly encouraged.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and other minority serving educational institutions are particularly encouraged to apply. Proposals from women, members of underrepresented minorities groups, and persons with disabilities are highly encouraged.

Interns will work with a designated mentor or team to gain a thorough understanding of the career field of interest to include theory and practical application of obtained knowledge. The intern will benefit from mentoring, coaching, and side-by-side work with knowledgable and experienced experts in the field. The objective is real, hands-on work assignments related to intern’s major, providing them with skills vitally important in today’s business environment.

Those interested in employment following an internship will be considered based on current a openings, performance during internship, and proximity to graduation.

Primary Responsibilities Include:

Establishes learning objectives with mentor/supervisor

Supports assignments that represent general tasking in the field of interest

Occasionally takes on special projects as assigned by the mentor/supervisor

The 2013-14 Oregon Space Grant Consortium Scholarship Program is now OPEN!Application Deadline: May 17, 2013

The Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) is pleased to provide students attending our member colleges and universities opportunities to apply for scholarship awards that support their academic goals and recognize their achievements. Scholarships are open to new and continuing students in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and STEM education disciplines. The scholarship program supports the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) objectives of fostering and encouraging career goals in STEM and STEM education. Individuals from under-represented groups in the STEM fields are encouraged to apply.

Several unique scholarship opportunities exist catering to different degree programs, career goals, and institution types. Details regarding each of these opportunities are found in the Scholarship Guide, available for download on the OSGC website scholarship page. Please read the Scholarship Guide carefully for eligibility requirements, application instructions and links to the online application system.

Scholarships are awarded through a competitive process. Note: Students receiving awards in past competitions may apply and receive awards for subsequent competitions.

Awards for the 2013-14 Academic Year will be made in the following categories:

From greenhouse effect to Earth’s rising temperatures and resulting impacts on plants, bugs and birds, increase your understanding of these timely topics and more at the NICE Teacher Professional Development Workshop. This workshop is a four-part series featuring climate literacy content and classroom resources from NASA and NICE Earth Systems Scientists. It is open to all Science, Technology, Engineering and Math K-12 teachers. The content will be geared toward the 5-9 grade band.

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OSGC maintains a diverse array of programs to support space science and engineering and aims to help develop a strong science, mathematics, and technology education base at all educational levels. Our blog is designed for easy access to both educators and the general public. We hope that you will find the site useful. You may also want to visit our primary website for more information regarding many of the programs administered by the Oregon Space Grant Consortium.